Improvement in trestles for railways



l. N. BECKER.

Trestles for Bailways.

Patented March 3.1874.

W'nesses.

UNITED STATES PATENT Gr mca;

JOSEPH N. BECKER, OF RICHMONDVILLE, NEW YORK.

IMPROVEMENT IN TRESTLES FOR RAILWAVS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 148.923., datedMarch 3,`1874; application filed January 9, 1874.

To all 'whom it may concem:

Be it known that I, J OSEPH N. BECKER, of Richmondville, State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bridges and Trestles for Railroads; and I do hereby declare that the following is a description thereof, reference being had to the accompanyng drawings forming a part of this specification in which- Figure l represents a perspective view of a section of a bridge or trestle embodying the improvements in this invention. Vertical View of the same. Fig. 3 is a crosssectional View taken at line No. 1 in Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken at line No. 2 in Fig. 2.

My invention relates to bridges and trestles for railroads; and consists in combining, with the usual sleepers of a bridge, shelving or sloping caps, placed between the ties, supporting the rails, and over the upper suri aces of the said s1eepers,in such a manner that the apeX of each eap may be about on a plane with the lower surface of the base of the rails, so as to form shelving surfaces immediately below the rail and above the sleepers, which will be capable of causing all coals dropping from the locomotive to immediately slide oil', and thus prevent a lodgment of such'coals on the said sleepers, or in the jointures or spaces between the same, as heretofore was liable to occur.

'The object of this invention is to prevent the bridge or trestle from being fired by the burning coals which may accidentally fall from the locomotive in its passage over the same.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe it with reference to the drawings and the letters of reference marked thereon, the same letters indicating like parts.

In the drawings, A A represent the usual sleepers or string-pieces of a bridge, supported by the usual bearing-beans, or posts or piers, in the ordinary manner. B B are the usual ties, having their bearings on the said sleepers. C O are the usual iron rails, supported by the ties, all of which are so Fig.` 2 is a` well known as to require no particular descripton.

Heretofore it has been the custom to leave the top surface of the tim bers AA exposed, with their upper sides, beneath the rail, flat, and capable of receivin g and retainin g any substance that might fall on them. The said timbers are often arrangedtogether inpairs, as shown, with their adjacent sides a little distance apart, so that apiece of any substance an inch or two in diameter would not be liable to pass through, but would find a lodgment between; and in case of the falling of a live coal from a passing locomotive, such lodgment on. or between the timbers A A will, in many cases, fire the said timbers, and thus destroy the bridge. The same danger is connected with bridges made with lines of single timbers, or with lines of three timbers, as A A A' in Fig. 3.

In my improvement in bridges, I place over the upper surfaces of the sleepers A A, and between the ties B B, the caps D D, which caps may be made of wood or metal, and are so formed as to produce two sloping or shelving surfaces, a a, as shown in Figs. l and 3, which surfaces, commencing at the apex of each cap,

slope downward and out past the outer sides- -bility of a lodgment of the coals between the rail and the caps on either side of the said rail.

Iu operation, these caps wi11,by their shelv ing sui-faces, a a, cast off the coals falling on them; and though the said inclined surfaces are not necessarily required to be very great, as the slight jar caused by the passage of the locomotive and its tender will aid the coals in sliding ofi', yet I would give to the said sur faces as great an angle of inclination as the distance between the rail and the sleepers A would admit.

This invention, though simple and of but little eXpense in application, is eifective for preventing the lodgment of the burning coals on the said timbers beneath the rail, and will 2 meme render the bridge or trestle safe from being D, made with slopiug or shelvng surfaces a hurned through such a cause, and can be a, and placed over the usual sleepers, or equiv readily appled to Lil bridges or trestles conalent timbers, AA, and below the rail C, substructed of Wood, in the manner as above de-. stzmtially as and fo'r the purpose set fort-h. scribed.

` Having described my inventon, What I JOSEPH BEOKEB' claim, and desre to secure by Letters Patent, VVitnesses: is- WM. REID,

In railroad brdges or trestles, the Caps D GHAS. J. SELKIRK. 

